A top official of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that some of the indicted top military officers President Muhammadu Buhari ordered to be probed along with the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd) were already under the commission’s radar.
The officer, who declined to give details of what they were doing about the indicted officers, said that EFCC would take immediate steps to carry out the Presidential directive arising from the indictment of the military officers by the panel which probed the arms deals.
Buhari last week ordered EFCC to prosecute many top military officers, both serving and retired, and companies indicted by the Presidential panel led by AVM John Ode which probed the procurement of arms for the country between 2007 and 2015.
Among others in the panel report to be probed are former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar (rtd) and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu (rtd).
The others are Major-General E.R. Chioba (rtd), Air Vice Marshal I.A. Balogun (rtd), Air Vice Marshal A.G. Tsakr (rtd), Air Vice Marshal A.G. Idowu (rtd), Air Vice Marshal A.M. Mamu, Air Vice Marshal, O.T. Oguntoyinbo, Air Vice Marshal T. Omenyi, Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun, Air Vice Marshal R.A. Ojuawo, and Air Vice Marshal J.A. Kayode-Beckley.
Others are: Air Commodore Sa Yushau (rtd), Air Commodore A.O. Ogunjobi, Air Commodore G.M.D. Gwani, Air Commodore S.O. Makinde, Air Commodore A.Y. Lassa, Colonel N. Ashinze, and Lt. Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Also to be investigated are: Himma Aboubakar, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Ltd, Messrs Syrius Technologies and Sky Experts Nig Ltd, among others.
According to the statement, the procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and characterized by irregularities and fraud, while in many cases, the items procured failed to meet their required purposes, especially the counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast.
The official said: “We intend to carry out the Presidential directive in accordance with our extant rules. Don’t forget that before the directive came, we had already moved to fish out some in the military top brass whose names came up in the course of investigation into the $2.1 arms deals.
“We also have a serving military officer, who has been telling us some of the things that took place in the name of arms purchase in the ONSA. All these will certainly advance our work.”
-Vanguard